


Advent '07

by demon_sloth



Series: Advent [1]
Category: Skip Beat!
Genre: 2007, Advent, F/M, old fic is old
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2007-12-01
Updated: 2012-10-21
Packaged: 2017-11-16 18:22:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/542468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demon_sloth/pseuds/demon_sloth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Okay, so I'm just going to say it now to try and head off the comments. This is an old piece of work. And by old I mean five years old. Meaning at the time there was only three or so books out. This is based on the story and characterisations of the first three books. </p><p>
  <b>It's not based on the events of whatever book is out now.</b>
</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Kyoko Says Goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I'm just going to say it now to try and head off the comments. This is an old piece of work. And by old I mean five years old. Meaning at the time there was only three or so books out. This is based on the story and characterisations of the first three books. 
> 
> **It's not based on the events of whatever book is out now.**

December 1st – 24 days to go

~#~

The alarm rang shrilly out into the dark room. Kyoko rolled over and, with her eyes still closed, slapped her hand about in the general area the alarm usually was.  
It didn't stop.

Mainly because it wasn't there.

She cracked open an eye, there was no light in the room at all, even with the curtains pulled back from the window but it was bitterly cold and Kyoko had to resist burrowing herself under the covers against the chill. A groan spilled across her parted lips as her face scrunched up, woefully unprepared despite everything.

After a few moments she cracked her eyes open again and levered herself up on her elbow to get a better view of the room shivering against the cold. The ringing was getting louder, more insistent in its mission to fully integrate her into the waking world.

There. In the corner.

Flipping the covers from her legs she rolled onto the floor and with weak legs staggered over to the corner of the room. Kneeling, and with her eyes still shut and shivering violently, she groped around until she managed to find the switch that turned off the alarm.

Blessed silence followed.

Wondering what the time was she risked blindness and peeled open her eyes. The bright light of the digital clock took a moment to swim into focus but when it did Kyoko could make out the time, '7.30'.

Wait…

Seven thirty? That wasn't right…

Wasn't her alarm supposed to go off at _Six o'clock?_

Panic burst into Kyoko sleep fuddled mind. She was an hour and a half late! If it was seven thirty now that meant she had half an hour to get ready and get to work on time. There was no possible was that _that_ was _ever_ going to happen!

But wait…wasn't there something she was forgetting? Something important? Something so important that she had set her alarm clock half an hour early for, so she could have enough time to get ready?

Yes there was. But what it was was eluding her…

Something in Kyoko's brain connected. That's right! Ren!

Ren…

Oh no, Ren. He was going away on a shoot somewhere and would not be back for a couple of weeks. Well, actually, his plane left tomorrow but today would be the last day he would be working at the agency.

 _That's_ what she was forgetting. She had wanted to look nice too.

Kyoko sat on her floor frozen for a moment, alarm clock clutched tightly to her chest before the thought that she was going to be even later for work than she would have been sank in.

The adrenaline kicked in and in a blur of speed she threw on her bright pink jumpsuit and rushed down the stairs, hair blown back. There was only time for a quick goodbye before she jumped on her bike and peddled away as fast as she could towards her work.

~#~

"Wow." Kanae breathed in amazement. "What happened to you?" 

Kyoko, to busy with the task of wheezing and crawling her way up the steps into the entrance of the building, didn't answer, choosing to save her breath for the mountain that was made up of the last three steps. Making it over the last one she collapsed and rolled onto her back, sucking in a great lungful of air.

"I…woke up…late…" she managed to get out between gasps, "alarm…didn't…go off…on time…cycled…"

Kanae stared down at her friend.

"You cycled?"

Kyoko looked like it would take her a minute or two to work up enough strength to answer so Kanae just continued, slightly exasperated at her friends actions.

"Kyoko. That cycle route usually takes someone an hour to do and you're telling me you did it in less than half that time?"

Kyoko just nodded.

Kanae pressed her fingertips against her forehead, feeling the vague beginnings of a headache starting. Sometimes, she thought, Kyoko just scared her.

Kyoko, still lying on the floor and unaware of Kanae's thoughts closed her eyes.

Blissful stillness.

The morning sun was just high enough to warm her face and dry the glisten of sweat that coated her skin. Until a shadow fell across her face.

Blinking, she gazed up at the figure but as they were standing in front of the light their face was thrown into shadow, so much so that Kyoko couldn't tell who it was.

Kanae, who was muttering about aspirin turned to face the figure standing next to her. Kyoko saw her stiffen in surprise.

"Ah…Good morning..."

The figure tilted their head slightly to the side.

"You do know you're blocking the door."

Kyoko's eyes widened and, despite her protesting muscles, shot straight up and to attention staring straight ahead, not daring to meet Ren's eyes. Of all the times he could have seen her he had to come across her now when she was still messy looking from her mad dash to work.

"Ah! S-sorry!"

A small smile twitched across Ren's lips as he gazed at the dishevelled girl in front of him, which was completely missed by Kyoko who kept staring straight ahead of her and was studiously avoiding his eyes.

Kanae didn't miss it though and her eyes narrowed and Ren walked past them and into the building.

Kyoko let out an explosive breath as the doors shut with a click. She paused for a moment before turning to Kanae with a bright smile splashed across her face.

"We should get going!" She said before she followed the path that Ren had taken only moments before into the building.

Kanae blinked blankly for a moment then, rubbing her forehead again and making a silent vow to herself to find and take the strongest painkillers she could find, made her way into the building.

~#~

Sighing, Kyoko leaned against her broom in the corridor. It was getting late in the afternoon and she hadn't managed to run into Ren all day. She wanted to say goodbye to him before he went off.

She sighed again. Being assigned to clean the corridors had excited her at the beginning of the day as she had thought that she would have bumped into Ren again sometime during the day when she looked a little more presentable so that she could properly say goodbye and good luck to him.

But he seemed to have disappeared of the face of the planet.

Now it was nearing four o'clock and she was running out of time. Yashiro had accidentally let it drop that Ren was planning to leave at around four thirty so that he could make sure that everything was ready for his trip.

Damn! This wasn't how the day was supposed to go! She was meant to get up early so that she could spend some more time to make herself look better. She wasn't supposed to rush over to work like the demons of hell itself were after her. And she was definitely supposed to see Ren and talk to him before he went away.

But that seemed to be rapidly disappearing. She was stuck here, cleaning, while the time she could be spending searching for Ren was rapidly disappearing.

She would never get to say goodbye at this rate.

Kyoko opened her mouth to let out another explosive sigh which was prematurely cut short when a mop hit her in the face.

Looking timidly over it she came eye to eye with a very pissed off looking Kanae.

"Kyoko," she growled, "if you sigh once more! I swear I will not be able to be held accountable for my actions!"

Kyoko bit her lip and gripped both mops tightly then looked down at the ground depressed.

"Sorry Moko."

This time it was Kanae's turn to sigh and running her hands through her hair she came to a decision.

"Here. Pass them over."

Kyoko looked confusedly over at her friend.

"Huh?"

"The mops. Pass them both over. You go and find Ren."

A blush spread rapidly across Kyoko's cheeks despite her best efforts to stop it.

"W-who said anything about Ren?"

Kanae's only response was to raise an eyebrow.

"Kyoko, please. You've wanted to do this all day."

The blush spread across, heating her ears. Seeing this Kanae smiled slyly and continued.

"If fact…" she mused, "You've been thinking about this ever since Mr Yashiro 'slipped' the fact that Ren planned to leave at four thirty today."

"I-I haven't!"

"Yes. You have. Now pass over the mops and go find Ren. I'll still be here when you get back. But I'd hurry if I was you; you only have about twenty minutes now."

Kyoko paused. Kanae could see a tug of war being battled out in her mind. Finally something seemed to give as she turned back to Kanae with a smile.

"Thanks Moko!" She said, thrusting both mops at her friend and rushed off down the corridor, "I'll be back in half an hour!"

Kanae smiled to herself at her friends actions and started to again mop the floor.

~#~

Kyoko rushed through the corridors sparing only a quick glance at the doors either side on her search for Ren. He really seemed to have disappeared as he didn't seem to be in the building at all.

Kyoko glanced at her watch and felt something cold crawl into the pit of her stomach. It was four twenty five. Ren had been planning to leave at four thirty. Maybe he had already left?

She tried to banish the idea but the more effort she put into ignoring the thought the more it made itself more and more plausible in her mind.

It wouldn't be much to leave five or ten minutes earlier than planned if the person in question didn't know they had anything to wait for.

Maybe she really was too late and he had already left.

She would get to say goodbye or see him for another couple of weeks.

Becoming more and more distracted by her thoughts she almost ran past the door that led into the reception area without looking. It was a quirk of fate that turned her head at the last possible moment.

Even so, it was another couple of moments before her brain processed what she had seen.

The tall and imposing figure Ren made cutting a swath across the reception area heading for the exit.

Twisting her body she backtracked as fast as her legs would take her. Bursting through the door she ran the rest of the way across to Ren. Startled passers-by either pausing to stare in disbelief as the bright pink clad girl rushed past them or, once seeing what she was wearing, turning back to their business, completely used to this type of behaviour.

Ren pushed on the doors, ready to exit the building.

"Ren!"

He paused, then looked back tensing slightly, confused as to who would be calling out to him. Yashiro paused next to him and looked back as well, a smile flitting across his face as he recognised the jumpsuit and the short hair.

Ren relaxed slightly as he too recognised Kyoko.

"Yes?" he asked as Kyoko rushed up, slightly breathless, to where he was standing, one hand paused on the door. "Is there something wrong?"

A grin broke out across her face and Ren blinked.

"Nope! No problem." She softened her smile a little, "I just wanted to say goodbye and good luck on your shoot."

Ren paused then allowed a small smile to cross his lips, this time one that Kyoko saw.

"Thank you. I'll see you when I get back."

Turning, he pushed open the door fully and walked out followed closely behind by Yashiro.

"Goodbye Mr Yashiro!" Kyoko called after him.

He turned and with a small smile gave her a little wave.

"Goodbye Kyoko. And take care."

The door shut behind him and Kyoko watched them get into their car through the glass. Then, with a stupidly huge grin splashed across her face, she turned and made her way back to Kanae and the rest of her work.

~#~

It was dark by the time Kyoko got off work. She stepped out into the night and watched as her breath clouded in white dragon's breath in front of her face. She still wore a grin on her face even as she rubbed her hands together vigorously and blew on them to get them warm again.

Picking up her bike she started on her way home. The sky was clear above her, each star seeming magnified in the dark velvet of the sky, making it almost painfully beautiful to look at as well as making the night almost as painfully cold.

She had said goodbye to Ren before he had left and on top of that it was the 1st of December today.

Only twenty four more days until Christmas!

There was so much to do and plan.

But despite that…at this precise moment…everything seemed right.

A perfect beginning.


	2. Ren Leaves

December 2nd – 23 days to go

~#~

The second of December hadn't seemed to have even begun when Kyoko was roused from her sleep by the alarm. Rolling over she hit the button and with a groan focused her eyes so she could see the time.

Six o'clock.

_Again?_

Damn it! She must of forgotten to switch the alarm forward again after yesterday. She had another hour before she needed to leave for work.

She sighed and shivered, burying herself under the warm covers so she could decide what to do. She could feel herself dropping off back to sleep. Smothering a yawn she tried to come up with an idea that would keep her warm but allow her to wake up.

That's it! A shower! A nice hot shower would keep her warm and be refreshing enough to wake her up.

Reaching that decision she quickly sprang out of bed and ran across the cold floor towards the bathroom only pausing to snatch two clean towels from the airing cupboard on the way.

~#~

The hot water sprayed over her skin, warming her from the outside in. Placing her palms flat against the tiles she braced herself and allowed the hot water to run down her spine. The hot air billowed around her in clouds of steam.

When she had been under long enough to be thoroughly warmed she turned off the taps and stepped out. Wrapping the towel around her she made her way back to her bedroom to get ready for work, only pausing for a second to shiver as she stepped out of the steamy bathroom and into the cool air outside.

Quickly towelling herself off Kyoko pulled on her outfit, cursing her lack of foresight to put her clothes in the airing cupboard to heat up before she went in the shower.

She checked the time as she pulled on her jacket and a scarf. Good. She still had twenty minutes before she had to leave; just enough time to grab some breakfast.

~#~

~#~

She had been put on another cleaning duty that afternoon. As she moved the mop methodically backwards and forwards across the floor she thought about the conversation she had with Kanae that lunchtime.

If she was completely honest with herself she would admit that she still didn't know what Kanae had meant. She had said goodbye! What more was there to say?

She was so caught up in puzzling out what her friend had meant that she didn't notice that her phone was ringing until the sound cut out. She glanced around her and rushed to struggle her mobile out of her pocket.

Kyoko almost dropped it when it suddenly started ringing again. "Hello?"

"You know, you really have to get used to your phone."

Kyoko's knees almost gave out as the rich melodic voice floated into her ear. "Ren! Ho-how are you?"

He chuckled. "Fine. I just phoned to say that I'm getting on the plane."

"Right now?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Well you better hurry then."

"I just wanted to say goodbye."

Kyoko blinked and groaned silently. What was with the goodbyes?! Was this another one of those goodbyes that Moko was talking about before?

Her musing was interrupted as Ren continued.

"And I'll see you later okay?"

"Err…ok."

"Good. Well I have to go now. Bye." The phone cut out with a small beep as Ren hung up.

"Bye."

Shoving the phone back into her pocket Kyoko dipped her mop back into the water and rung it out.

Arg! She was so confused! What had he meant by any of that? Should she ask Moko? Ah no…she was sure that it would all turn out okay in the end and sort itself out in the end.

Kyoko sighed. Maybe tomorrow would be better.


	3. Present Planning I

December 3rd – 22 days to go

~#~

"Finally!" Kyoko sighed happily and collapsed on the step. She had grown fond of this staircase recently. It was out of the way and rarely used. She should know; she had to clean it almost every day.

She dumped her bag on the step next to her. She had gone out of her way especially to pick up her bag from the employees cloakroom just so that she could be alone.

If she had done this while she was sitting in the break room she knew that it would be just her luck that one of her friends would walk in on her and would ruin her surprise.

Unfortunately the trip to the cloakroom and then to this step had cost her five of her precious break minutes. Plus it would take her another five minutes to get back to drop her bag off. That left her ten minutes of her break to plan her Christmas present list.

She thought for a moment.

Well…at least it would give her a chance to start it.

Rustling through her bag she pulled out pad of paper and a pen. Placing her pad on her knees she sucked the end of her pen as she thought about the most important thing when writing a Christmas list.

Who should be on it?

Well, there was obviously Moko. Kyoko scribbled her name down and thought again. Maria was second on her list, then the President, Lory.

She thought again. Who else could she add?

Oh yes! Her landlords, the couple who owned the Darumaya restaurant where she lived and sometimes helped out. They definitely had to go on her list, they had already done so much for her and she couldn't believe that she had nearly forgotten about them!

She would have to get them something special to say thank you.

Now who else?

Well…she supposed she would have to get Mr Sawara a Christmas present. He had given her this opportunity in the first place. If it wasn't for him then she wouldn't have been able to get anywhere near the level that she was at now.

Now…

She paused and looked down at the list in her hand. Then blushed hard, her ears turning bright red as she thought about the last people she was going to add.

Mr Yashiro had to be put on her list. He had been so nice to her ever since she came to L.M.E.

But if she got Mr Yashiro a present…

Then she would have to get Ren one too.

…Ren…

The blush spread all the way down her neck.

What would he think if she bought him a Christmas present?

~#~

"…and Moko would like…" Kyoko sucked the end of her pen for a moment as she thought. "A pony?"

She wrote the present down next to Kanae's name as looked at it, her head tilted to the side, considering. 

"Arg!" She brought the pen down and scribbled viciously, enough so that if anyone else looked at the paper they wouldn't have any clue as to what was written there before. But that didn't help her at all; she still had to finish writing her Christmas present list.

Actually…

Kyoko took a surreptitious glance downwards at the innocuous paper resting gently in her lap.

She would have to start the list.

This was so difficult!

She had never known that writing a Christmas list was this difficult! This morning, when she took her break it had all seemed so easy. Make the list and write down the presents next to the name.

And what did she have?

Well at the moment everyone was getting blue biro squiggles.

She sighed and rested her head in her hand holding the pen.

How was she going to do this? What should she do? She had to make this list soon so that she could get out and buy the presents before everyone else bought their gifts in the mad rush just before Christmas.

Actually, when she thought about it, she was already a little late in starting her Christmas shopping. She knew some people had already finished their shopping. The shops had been advertising since early October so it wasn't a big surprise.

Kyoko lifted her head and looked down at her list again.

…Maybe it would be better if she wrote a completely new list and started again. Those blue squiggles could get more than a little intimidating.

…And when she thought about how little time she had left to buy presents she could feel a panic attack beginning.

Ripping off the page she copied down the list onto the virgin sheet below. Screwing up the old list into a ball she shoved it into her bag so that she could dispose of it later without there being any chance of anyone on the list finding out about it.

Sighing she looked down at the fresh list.

A brand new start.

Now if only she could think of what to get them for Christmas. Kyoko started to suck the end of her pen again, completely absorbed in thinking about her friends Christmas presents.

Her lunch lay forgotten on the step beside her.

~#~

Kyoko could feel her stomach rumble as it let out a low, long growl. 

Kanae looked up in surprise at her friend who was now nursing her stomach with a dejected look upon her face. "Was that you?" she asked. "Didn't you have your lunch?"

Kyoko just looked at her, her hand still rubbing circles on her empty stomach.

Kanae's eyebrows knotted in confusion. "Why didn't you eat your lunch? You took the time off; I know because I saw you grab your bag."

Kyoko looked away, warily. "I…was…err…distracted?"

Kanae looked at her, deciding whether to ask further questions. Eventually she worked up enough courage to do so. "Dis…tracted?"

"Um, yeah."

"How? By what?"

Kyoko looked away from her friend's eyes, desperate for some sort of intervention or excuse to make itself available. "Look!" She yelled, pointing to a random bit of floor.

Kanae turned to look but her face creased in consternation when she couldn't see anything. She turned back to Kyoko. "Kyoko. What…?"

"Aha ha!" Kyoko laughed nervously. "I thought I saw something."

Kanae just stared at her. 

Kyoko, becoming increasingly nervous sidled over to the place where she had pointed at. "Err…I'll just…go clean it. Must have been a shadow or something or a piece of dirt or something…a yeah…ha ha…"

Kanae stared at her friend as she quickly and frantically started mopping the floor, Kyoko's back turned to her. She stared at her for a few minutes, then forgetting all about the previous started conversation she started to get back to work as well.

After a few minutes Kyoko chanced a glance backwards to Kanae. She sighed with relief when the glance showed that Kanae had gone back to work, dropping all previous conversations.

It wasn't that she didn't trust Moko; it was just that this was going to be the very first surprise that she was going to give and she didn't want to spoil it.

Besides, it wasn't like she had actually written anything; she just had an empty list.

Oh well, she would finish the list tomorrow.


	4. Christmas Special I

December 4th – 21 days to go

~#~

Today the sun didn't even crest the horizon until it was nearing ten in the morning.

Kyoko had spent a cold morning cycling to work in the dark. She was going to have to get a taxi in the morning soon as it was getting more and more dangerous on the roads in the busy morning traffic.

Well, she would start getting a taxi once she had saved up her money for her friend's presents.

Right now she was just on her way back to the break room. She had thought all last night on what types of presents everyone would like but she hadn't really got anywhere. She had even fallen asleep at her desk with the list in front of her and woken up this morning with a huge crick in her neck which was only just beginning to straighten out.

Rubbing her neck she was about to reach for the door handle when something small cannon-balled into the back of her knees.

Kyoko had to stifle a scream and clutch the door handle as the momentum carried her forward. Balanced at a precarious angle she cautiously looked backwards at what was now attached to her legs.

"Kyoko!"

"Maria?"

Maria grinned upwards at Kyoko's slightly confused glance. "Hee!"

"Maria!" Kyoko scooped down and caught her into a tight hug.

"What are you doing here?!"

Maria smiled coyly.

"Did you come with the pre-…?"

Before she could finish her sentence a giant trumpet blast sounded throughout the corridor. The other employees at L.M.E. ignored the loud noise and continued working on whatever they were originally working on. The guests to the building were easier to spot with many of them stopping to stare at the commotion in front of them.

"Oh. I guess you did." Kyoko turned to watch the rest of the procession just as the President burst through a paper screen surrounded by sparkles.

"Hello Kyoko!"

Kyoko smiled as the President strode towards her, wondering if she was going to have to clean up the corridor after she had finished her break. "Good Morning."

"Yes! Good Morning!" He paused and looked down. "I see you've found Maria."

"I didn't tell her! I swear!"

Kyoko frowned. "Huh? Didn't tell me what?"

Maria grinned back up at her and clung to her arm. "You'll have to wait and see!"

"Huh?"

Lory cleared his throat, hiding the smile that was threatening to break loose at the sight in front of him. The noise caught the attention of Kyoko who was trying to figure out what was going on.

"Kyoko, maybe it would be better if we spoke in my office. All will be revealed there."

"Um, Ok but my breaks just about to fini-…"

She was cut off by a sharp tug on her arm which dragged her downward. Maria smiled. "This way!"

Dragging Kyoko by the arm Maria made her way to the Presidents office. Lory followed behind at a slightly more sedate pace smiling softly to himself at the antics of the two girls.

~#~

Kyoko perched awkwardly on the edge of her seat, her hands clasped between her knees. She felt the first flutter of nervous butterflies stir in her stomach. It wasn't that she was scared of what she was about to be told, just that she didn't know that she wanted to hear what she was about to be told. Maria sat on the chair next to her, every so often turning to face her and grinning. She was filled with energy, bouncing around in her chair, unable to keep still for any short period of time. Lory sat opposite. At the moment he was flipping through some papers on his clipboard and ignoring the two girls in front of him.

Kyoko shifted nervously and glanced around the office.

Lory looked up and smiled at the nervous gesture. "Don't worry Kyoko, you're not in trouble."

The tension that she didn't know she was holding in her shoulders melted and Kyoko let out a small sigh. Another minute went by in silence before Lory stopped looking at his papers and turned towards Kyoko. Kyoko started and turned towards him, answering his smile with a smile of her own.

"Kyoko," he began "the reason I have called you here is that you've had a job offer."

Kyoko perked up. "Really?"

"Yes, but the reason that Mr Sawara isn't telling you this and I am is that it is very short notice. It starts filming on the eighth for around six days."

"The eighth?"

"Yes, but it would be very good publicity for you, help get you noticed even more…if that's what you wish."

"What is it?"

Lory sighed. "It's a Christmas special. Due to be released nearer Christmas Day." He handed Kyoko a script. "This is the script. Have a look through it and see what you think. I would normally ask you to take a few days to think this through but as they want to start filming in four days they pretty much need an answer right now."

Maria squirmed in her seat. "Oh do it! Do it! Please!"

Kyoko turned to look at the small girl. 

Lory chuckled. "The company who is filming is one of Maria's favourites."

"They do all of them! All my favourite shows! And you could be in one!"

Kyoko chuckled. "Well maybe…"

She flipped through the script, speed-reading through almost all of it until one word caught her eye. "Princess…" She breathed.

"Yes. The story is about a Christmas Princess and her search for her true love."

"You mean…if I take this part I'd play a Princess?!"

"Yes. That is the part they want you for."

Kyoko broke out into a huge grin. "I'll do it!"

She hugged the script to her, dreaming up scenarios in her mind.

"- has been cast as the prince. Are you ok with that Kyoko?"

"Hmmm? Oh yes that fine." She answered. Her grin still firmly fixed into place.

Lory didn't look too sure. "Well, that's ok then. I'll phone them right now and tell them you'll take the part. I'll have a driver take you from here to the set."

Kyoko stood up. "Thank you so much! I won't let you down!"

Lory smiled. "I'm sure you won't."

~#~

That night as Kyoko lay in bed she couldn't stop smiling at the thought of starting filming. It had all happened so fast but she wasn't regretting it. There was something that was tugging on the corner of her mind…didn't the President say something about the other actors and actresses that had already been chosen?

She frowned as she snuggled under the warm covers. She had completely missed what he had said as she had been too busy thinking about the Christmas Special.

Her frown straightened out as she relaxed into sleep.

Oh well. She was sure that it would all work out.

She would just have to see what tomorrow brings.


	5. Present Planning II

Day 5 – 20 days to go

~#~

Kyoko woke up in the dark. The coldness of the air a chilling wake up call. She shivered violently as she got dressed in her work clothes, putting on an extra sweatshirt and scarf so that she wouldn't freeze when she cycled to work. As she was brushing her hair her eyes fell on the script that was balancing precariously on the edge of her dresser.

She slowly placed the hairbrush down and gently, almost lovingly picked up the script. She gazed at the front cover for a few minutes before she managed to work up enough courage to open it.

A princess!

She was finally going to be a princess!

This was going to be great. In three days she would start filming and then the show would be aired out at Christmas time to millions of viewers.

She was doing something that was bigger than she had ever done before. It was slightly daunting. But the thing that carried her through was the fact that the producer had asked for her.

Specifically for her. And that felt absolutely fantastic. The fact that they had seen her and liked her and asked for her…Maybe even written the part specifically for her.

This was so exciting!

She glanced at the first page and started to read the lines getting so caught up in it that when she looked at her clock she realised that she was late. She would have to cycle twice as fast as normal to get there on time.

Throwing the script in her bag she raced down the stairs and out the door, jumping on her bike and cycling away in one smooth movement.

~#~

Kyoko was sitting in her regular spot on her step near the radiator. She had her blank list resting on her knees again but she wasn't really concentrating on it. Her lunch lay half eaten on the step next to her and her script, open on the first scene, on the other side of her.

She had to learn her lines. Kyoko sighed. She also had to finish this Christmas list. She thought about it quickly. If she finished her list now then she could have the next few days uninterrupted to learn her lines. Or she could learn her lines, put off her list making and then forget all about the others presents.

Maybe she should do the list first.

Closing her script she put it away in her bag so that she wouldn't get tempted by it. Taking another bite of her lunch she set to thinking.

Well, when she had actually made up her mind to write the list and she was not panicking about not having enough time the perfect presents actually weren't that hard to think of.

Maria's present was the first to pop into her head. Kyoko just knew that the little girl would love something occultish. In fact, Kyoko had seen the perfect shop for it, all dark and gloomy and filled with weird dolls and candles. Maria would just love something from there. Like a book on Voodoo.

Kyoko took up her pen and beside Maria's name wrote 'Book – Voodoo/Doll'.

She stared down at the list with a happy little smile on her lips now that something was filled out. This could be easier than she thought. She looked down her list again. Who was next? Hmmm…Kanae would be a good choice.

Sucking the end of her pen Kyoko thought about what she could get her best friend. A piece of jewellery maybe? Like a bracelet?

It had to be something that would show the girl how much she had come to mean to her. She was Kyoko's best friend and this was the time to show her how much that meant.

Yes, a bracelet would be good. Maybe gold?

Kyoko wrote down 'Gold Bracelet' next to Kanae's name. She would have to go to the jewellers sometime later on this month to see what kind of stock they had. She wanted something classy for Kanae. Something that her friend could wear everyday, with any outfit.

That wasn't asking much.

She jotted down these extra thoughts and moved on to the next person on her list.

The President was the next person to catch her eye. This was going to be a little difficult. What kind of thing would he like? His taste was so out there that Kyoko was hard pressed to think of anything that he might not already have.

She sighed and switched her pen for the rest of her lunch. She would ponder this while she ate.

Chewing slowly she thought about all the outfits that she had seen, from the bizarre to the just downright weird. There was nothing that linked them together. They were just outlandish and that was it.

The weirder the outfit the better.

Though when she thought back on them again, she did notice that they stuck to themes. Usually the theme came from a different country each time. She could get him a present based on that right?

Maybe some shoes or something? Yeah, shoes would work.

Except that she didn't know his shoe size. She couldn't ask anyone either because then her present may be leaked.

No. Shoes and clothes were out of the question.

Kyoko sighed and took another bite. What now? She still thought something country based would be appropriate. But what else could you get that was from many different countries?

Her mind was a blank. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn't think of anything that she could possibly get him.

She wiped her mind clean again. This was going to be impossible if she didn't stay positive. Now. Clothes and shoes were out of the question. But what about…hats?

Hats?

Well, they weren't clothes specifically, plus she didn't need to know his size for them as most of them came with a one-size-fits-all label. And they would tie in with the different theme thing.

Now all she had to do was find a hat that came from something that he hadn't already done.

Well…she would come to that when she got to the shops.

Kyoko jotted down the word 'hats' next to the presidents name and moved on.

Hmm, what could she get Mr Sawara? It would have to be something that would suit him and his personality.

Something middle-ageish. Like a watch! A watch would be good. Though that might be a little expensive…

Kyoko thought about what she had put him through to get into L.M.E….maybe it wasn't so expensive after all.

If anything it would be an apology of sorts.

She already knew what she would get the couple who she rented a room from. A silk umbrella and a new set of kitchen knives would be perfect for them.

With all that written down just left Mr Yashiro and Ren for her to think of.

She finished off her lunch and took a mouthful of water.

What could she get Ren for Christmas? What kind of present would be special enough? It had to be the sort of present that he could look at and not forget where it came from and who gave it to him.

She had no idea. She didn't even have the beginning of an idea of what to get him.

What could be so special?

She paused. Maybe it would be easier if she thought of what to get Mr Yashiro first. Then she could concentrate on what to get Ren. 

Well…Mr Yashiro was always intense about his job. So maybe something job related? But what could she get him that was job related?

Oh wait! She knew! She would get him a fancy diary slash notebook thing. Something for the new year. He would love that.

But that still left Ren. And she still had no idea what to get him. She didn't even know what sort of thing he would be interested in. It wasn't as though she was particularly privy to his private life.

Ren kept his private life just that.

Private.

Even with her stay at his house when she was his manager, she still didn't know what sort of thing interested him. His rooms had been bare almost to the point of clinical. And what he did have was so expensive that she was sure that she wouldn't be able to afford it, even with the money that she would be receiving from the Christmas Special.

She checked her watch and realised that she only had five minutes before she had to get back to work. Kyoko sighed and started to pack her things away. She would think on what to get him this afternoon. It couldn't take more than one afternoon to pick out the perfect gift for him now, could it?

Plus, she had the whole afternoon of the 7th off to buy the things on her list. She would definitely have thought of something by then.


	6. Decorations

Day 6 – 19 days to go

~#~

When Kyoko arrived at work this morning she was greeted by the sight of a smiling Mr Sawara and Kanae. It was only when she got closer that she saw that Mr Sawara's grin was slightly forced and wilting even further under the frown Kanae was shooting his way. Kyoko felt a sense of dread settle in her stomach but she put on a cheerful face and walked quickly over to where her friend was standing.

"Hey! What's up?"

Kanae looked as if she was about to start complaining but Mr Sawara interrupted her.

"Kyoko! How wonderful! I have some exciting news for you!"

Kyoko blinked, a little taken aback. "Um…you do…?"

"Yes! You see because you're starting filming tomorrow we thought that the Christmas decorations should go up today…well at least started today! It would be unfair if we expected Kanae to decorate the whole building by herself!"

Moko made a noise like a strangled cat. "The _whole_ building?!"

Mr Sawara tensed. "Well…not the whole building…" He started to lightly sweat under Kanae's anger. "You don't have to…decorate…the bathrooms?"

Kanae nearly boiled over. "The _bathrooms?!_ "

"You mean we get to decorate!?"

Mr Sawara's smile relaxed a little at the positive response he received for Kyoko and he blocked out the seething girl standing next to her although a fine shine of nervous sweat still covered his skin.

"Yes, the decorations are on the second floor in the forth stock cupboard. I'm allowing you to use the elevators…"

"Oh how generous." Kanae interrupted.

Mr Sawara faulted but then carried on bravely from the look of star-struck adoration in Kyoko's eyes. "…and it has to be finished by the ninth. Bye!"

He practically ran off before he had even finished his last sentence. Kanae stared after his retreating form before what he had said sunk in.

"The ninth? The _ninth?!_ What do they think we are? We can't finish this whole building in four days!"

She turned to rant about the impossibility of the task set before them but stopped at the sight of Kyoko who was dreamily whispering "Decorations" to herself in a slightly creepy possessive sort of way.

"…Kyo…ko…?"

Kyoko stopped suddenly and stood extremely still. Kanae ventured a hand out to see if she had passed out standing up or something. She just about managed to swallow a blood curdling scream when Kyoko whirled around and grabbed her arms in an iron grip.

"Moko! Isn't this great?! We get to decorate!"

"Did you not just hear…?"

"Decorate!"

"Yes but…"

"All day!"

"Exactly! But I…"

"For FOUR DAYS! Well…not four days for me because I'm working…but I'll be able to do it today and tomorrow and the rest is up to you!"

"KYOKO!"

Kyoko paused and stared Kanae who was breathing hard.

"Kyoko…did you not just hear what he said? We have to decorate the whole building by the end of the ninth! That's four…I repeat four days including today!"

The sparkles came back into Kyoko's eyes. "I know, I heard, isn't it great?!"

Kanae paused, still caught in Kyoko's grip, and counted to ten in her mind breathing out slowly. 

"Kyoko. Have you seen how big this place is?"

Kyoko paused then and looked around. The twinkles in her eyes died a little as she took in the scope of the task set out before her. Then they hardened and she looked into Kanae's eyes with fierce determination.

"Moko!"

"Er…yes, Kyoko?"

"We shall do this! And we will get it finished!"

"We shall? I mean will?"

"Yes. And I will help you do most of the hard stuff today and tomorrow so that you won't have to do quite as much when I'm not here."

"O…Kay?"

Kyoko continued to stare into Kanae's eyes. "Well? What are we waiting for?!" She rushed off towards the elevator dragging Kanae with her.

~#~

Kyoko stood back and wiped the thin layer of sweat from her forehead. She stood next to Kanae and gazed with pride at the entrance hall. Especially at the huge Christmas tree that was bedecked in all its Christmas glory.

Standing twelve feet tall it was collecting many appreciative glances.

"Phew." Kanae collapsed on the ground in a heap. Kyoko grinned. "Thank God that's over."

"Yeah," Kyoko agreed. "Good thing you didn't have to do that by yourself eh?"

"Exactly. I mean it took both of us six trips each to get all the parts down. Never mind the decorations."

Kyoko sat down next to her friend. "It still took about three hours though."

Kanae nodded in agreement. "But at least it's done now."

Both of the girls looked around the decorated room. It had taken all day but they had finally finished. Not just here but the whole first and second floor as well. 

They had even cut their lunch breaks short to decorate.

Kyoko had insisted and Kanae just didn't feel right eating and watching her friend work. As such both of them had half their lunches still to eat.

After a short break Kanae turned to her friend. "Do you want to finish eating now?"

Kyoko paused to think about it. "We could…"

Kanae raised an eyebrow. "But?"

Kyoko smiled sheepishly. "We could start on the third floor."

A look of horror crossed Kanae's face. "What? Why?"

"Well…if we do it now then you won't have to do it later when I'm not around."

"There is that…"

"Great then! It's settled!"

Kanae's stomach let out a long low growl and she rubbed it. "Hang on a minute Kyoko!"

Kyoko paused from where she was about to get up. "Hmm?"

"Why do you like decorating so much?"

Kyoko paused and Kanae could see her fighting down a blush and failing. "Um…it's because…"

Kanae raised an eyebrow. Kyoko rubbed the back of her head and looked away, fining something extremely interesting in the opposite wall.

"It just reminds me of being a kid. Some of the happiest memories I have of home are decorating the house for Christmas. I wasn't allowed many decorations because Mother said they were a waste of time so having this many now is like heaven to me! I love looking at them! They're all so pretty!"

Kanae paused after this outburst. She really wanted to ask the next question but she had a bad feeling that nothing good would come of the answer. Eventually she sucked up enough courage from somewhere and took a deep breath.

"Wasn't…Christmas Day the happiest memory?"

Kyoko's face immediately changed, closing itself off. "No."

The answer was short and clipped said in a deadened voice. It took all of Kanae's self control not to wince at the tone. Whatever Kyoko had gone through had left her the worse for wear.

Kanae sighed and patted her empty stomach.

"Ok then!"

Kyoko looked over at the cheerful sound.

Kanae jumped up and grabbed Kyoko's wrist. "Let's go decorate!"


	7. Present Panic I

Day 7 – 18 days to go

~#~

At break Kyoko could be found at her now usual break spot. Well, if people new about her break time spot they would be able to find her.

She had wondered if anyone else wondered where she went off to. Kanae did seem to give her a weird look every time she rushed off and came back but she hadn't followed. She instinctually knew that Kyoko needed some time apart from everything. Either that or she was glad of a break herself.

It was the second day of decorating the two girls had to do and Kyoko had thrown herself into the job with even more gusto today than she had done yesterday. 

A feat in itself.

But mainly it was because she felt bad about leaving Kanae to decorate by herself the next couple of days.

That, and the fact that she had completely forgotten about having this afternoon off. It wasn't as if she had meant to forget; only that she had asked for the time off so long ago that it had completely slipped her mind. She was aware on the fringes of her memory that she had thought of it recently but at the moment her mind was a blur of tinsel.

This was the reason that had fuelled her desire to decorate today.

And decorate she had.

As such nearly three quarters of the building were decorated. Kyoko had rushed around most of this morning like a mad woman, streaming tinsel and mistletoe behind her like in a tornado-esque whirl. People had actually dived out of her way when they saw her coming.

If they saw her in time.

This was why she was sitting down now taking her break.

Yesterday she had completely forgone her morning and afternoon break. And by default so had Kanae. But today, as she had spent so much energy, she actually needed a break to catch her breath.

And that was where she was now.

Sitting, surrounded by mistletoe and wreaths of holly that had somehow become attached to her and wrapped head to foot in a large string of golden tinsel, which, every now and then, she would stroke absentmindedly. She was thinking about what she was going to do on her afternoon off. Now that she had her list it was just a matter of working out whose present to buy first.

That and figure out what to get Ren.

She had spent all of yesterday thinking about it. Mulling it over when she was decorating. Even then Ren's perfect Christmas Present was still a mystery to her. After the third headache she had decided to give the pondering a rest and sleep on it. It wasn't as if Christmas was tomorrow anyway. She still had plenty of time.

A thought swam its way into her consciousness.

Hadn't Kanae said something about leaving early?

Kyoko thought harder, trying to remember what she had been told. Slowly the memory became unclouded.

Yes! That was right!

It had been yesterday as they both had been decorating the tree. Kyoko had asked what Kanae was going to be doing over the Christmas holidays and Kanae had said that she was leaving a week earlier to go with her family to a cabin in Hokkaido to spend Christmas there. She hadn't sounded very pleased when she had said it.

Well, that threw off all Kyoko's plans.

She had thought to give everyone their presents at the Christmas party. But if Kanae was going home a week early she wouldn't be there. That meant that Kyoko would have to buy, wrap and give Kanae's present to her before everyone else and before she left.

This was becoming slightly complicated.

No matter!

At least what she was doing this afternoon was sorted now.

Checking her list Kyoko saw that she would be looking for a piece of jewellery; a bracelet or perhaps necklace. Something to show her that she was special to Kyoko. But nothing too expensive, Kyoko didn't have enough money to buy something expensive for everyone.

She stopped stroking her tinsel and took out her pen instead and circled Kanae's name. Then catching the time on her watch she rushed off back down to find Kanae again. It was time to fit as much decorating into one and a half hours as she possibly could.

This afternoon she was going shopping.

~#~

The streets were busy with shoppers even though it was only early afternoon. Kyoko had rushed off as soon as her lunch break had started; only pausing to say a quick goodbye to Kanae. As such she hadn't had anything to eat yet but she wasn't hungry. She was too excited to be hungry.

Filled with a warm glow she had started her search for the perfect present straight away. She had planned to just look at the jewellery shops but found herself sidetracked by all the pretty lights and decorations hung up in the shop displays.

So far it had taken her an hour to travel the length of five shops. None of which were jewellers.

Sighing, Kyoko wondered if other people got distracted like this when they were out shopping. After she had finished 'ooohing' and 'aaahing' at the last display, which looked exactly like all the others, she paused and reviewed her mental list.

Buy Moko a piece of jewellery.

That was it.

And it wasn't as if it was hard or anything.

She put back her shoulders and strode down the street, purposefully ignoring any and all window displays. She lasted two minutes.

Half and hour later and she was still standing on the same street. She hadn't done anything yet she was still exhausted. Deciding to take a break she spied a small coffee shop a little ways down. Quickly making her way over to it she entered. A blast of hot air hit her as soon as she opened the door making her realise how cold it had actually been outside. She had been so distracted that she hadn't actually noticed. Ordering a hot chocolate she sat down by the window to drink. As she thawed from the inside out she tried to set her priorities straight.

~#~

Despite this it was another hour before Kyoko found herself in her first jewellers of the day. By this time it was pushing three o'clock and she was feeling slightly frazzled.

The attendant looked slightly worried but pasted a smile on her face anyway. "How may I help you this afternoon?"

Kyoko looked at the display in front of her. "I was looking for a bracelet or something for my friend."

The attendant's smile became genuine as she found something that she could deal with. "Well all our bracelets are over here." She pointed to a tray at the far end of the display and they both moved down to have a look.

Arrayed on the tray were twelve bracelets, some gold and some silver with prices ranging from the moderate to the six figures. Kyoko looked over them with a critical eye…or what she believed to be a critical eye. She was actually looking for something pretty and in the moderate price range.

Finally her eyes settled on a beautiful golden bracelet that was seven delicate butterflies linked together and it was exactly in her price range. Kyoko's face broke out into a huge grin and she pointed to the piece. The attendant followed her gaze and pointed to the bracelet.

"Yes, that's the one."

Gently picking out the jewellery the attendant turned to Kyoko. "Would you like that gift wrapped?"

Kyoko thought for a minute. It would be a lot easier for her if she got the gift professionally gift wrapped and not have to spend a lot of time on it tonight when she needed an early night. Tomorrow she would start filming.

"Yes, thank you."

Five minutes later Kyoko had parted with her hard earned money but was one present up. She pulled the slightly crumpled list from her pocket and with a flourish that was wasted on passers-by she crossed 'Moko' off.

One down, seven to go.

But for now it was enough. It had already gotten dark and she still needed to get home. Making sure her present was tucked safely away she started back.

She had an early start in the morning.


	8. Filming I

Day 8 – 17 days to go

~#~

Kyoko yawned widely. She was pleasantly warm in the back seat of one of the company's luxury cars. Apparently when you had a high profile gig you got chauffeured to and from the filming site in style by either your manager or if you didn't have one of those then a company employee.

Kyoko wasn't complaining though. She had had to get up even earlier than usual so that she could get to L.M.E. with enough time to then get driven to the shoot.

Wherever it was.

Her driver looked at her in the rear view mirror and she stifled her next yawn and smiled sheepishly at him.

That's right! She was at work now! She had to act professional! Even if, technically, she wasn't exactly at work this very minute.

She sighed and looked out the window.

The traffic was becoming heavy as it was around this time that everyone set off for work but it was light enough that the car that she was in was still able to move quite fast through the city. The scenery sped by in a long grey blur. Every now and then the greyness was punctuated with green which soon became the dominant colour as they moved further and further away from the inner city sprawl and into the countryside. Every so often Kyoko had to wipe the condensation from the inside of the steamed up window

~#~

The sun was just beginning to rise in an explosive burst of colour as she arrived at her destination. The car slowed down and stopped on the edge of a cluster of trailers and camera equipment.

Film crew and other people were dotted about in the cold morning air, chatting to each other and sipping from cups that steamed in the cold morning air. Kyoko could see the area that they were about to start filming in already set up a fair distance away by a small cluster of trees. The shoot was in the middle of nowhere but it maximised on space.

Getting out of the car, Kyoko stood, shivering slightly and rubbing her arms to try to generate more heat, her breath clouding around her face. She was slightly unsure of where to go as she had only seen a picture of the director to pick him out of the crowd.

The chilly air was a stark contrast to the cars heated interior.

It was when she was just beginning to believe that she wasn't supposed to be there that the director spotted her and waved her over. Glad to find the one face she recognised she hurried over, the movement banishing the chill from her cold limbs.

"Kyoko! Welcome! I'm so glad you accepted!!

Kyoko smiled, she already liked this director. He was so friendly and polite.

"You know the part was written with you in mind. I think you'll be perfect in it!"

Kyoko tried to fight down a blush before she embarrassed herself. Even so a small amount of pink tinged her cheeks. "Oh, um, thank you!"

The director smiled. "So, did you manage to read the whole script? What did you think of it?"

Kyoko thought for a moment of all the snatched minutes that she had actually paused and memorised her lines. She had managed to do it all but it was disjointed, even to her. "Yes. I've read it through. It sounds like a very romantic story."

"Was there anything that you thought was missing? I feel there is something but I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe you could tell me? A fresh perspective never hindered anything."

"Well…" There had been something. She had noticed it as she read through the last scene. "It doesn't seem to climax."

She watched as the director frowned and tried to explain it better.

"You have the couple, and they get together and it's full of Christmassy goodness, but I think…"

She paused to ruffle through her copy of the script.

"Here! When the prince finally catches up to her after that huge misunderstanding. It doesn't seem to climax properly there."

The director moved over to seem where about she was talking in the script.

"Yes…I can kind of see what you mean. Well what do you suggest?"

She closed her eyes and tried to picture the scene.

"Well…there's been a huge misunderstanding and the princess has tried and failed to correct it. And now the price has finally realised what has happened and that he might have lost his one true love forever. It just doesn't seem right that all he does when he finally catches up to her is hug her and whisper into her ear how sorry he is."

Kyoko was so caught up in trying to describe what she felt that she didn't notice that the director was silent beside her, almost hanging off her every word.

"…If I was him…I'd think that he would be so relieved to see that she hasn't gone forever that the rush of emotions would be to much and he wouldn't be able to talk or explain. And to stop her from going any further the only thing he could do would be to pour out every one of those emotions into a kiss."

She opened her eyes and realised that the director was staring at her. She blushed. "And then I'd have him hold her close and whisper in her ear."

Silence followed after she had finished and Kyoko was beginning to feel that she may have overstepped her mark when the director's face broke out into a huge smile.

"Brilliant! You're completely right! That is what's missing!"

Kyoko was stunned into silence. Had the director actually taken what she had thought to heart?

Apparently so as he was now gleaming with renewed vigour.

"I'm going to take this straight back to the script writers!" He abruptly turned and seemingly bounced off towards where Kyoko supposed the writers were.

She stood for a moment, completely dazed before one thought managed to scramble up to consciousness.

She had said that the main couple should kiss. She was one half of that main couple.

Ergo, she would have to kiss her counterpart.

Panic set in with speed.

Would she be good enough? Could she do this? Who was going to be her counterpart?

The situation was turning so fast.

Then the thought hit her…It was quite probable that this was going to be her first real kiss.

Could she give that away for the sake of the part? Or would it really be her first kiss? Would it not just be her characters?

She was so confused. It was then that the make-up and costume team grabbed her.

Whatever mess her mind was in right now was no excuse for being late.

~#~

The first day of the shoot had gone surprisingly well. Kyoko was taking off her costume and make up in her very own trailer. She was feeling exhausted after the long day's work. All the scenes that had been shot today were just the one of her character on her own. They were from all over the timeline so Kyoko had had to portray many different emotions. Thankfully she had been able to do so in as few takes as possible.

Some she even got on her first try.

Even so it was tiring work and she was glad to be finished. She felt slightly guilty that it had taken this long to wonder how Kanae was doing at work, but she supposed that that was only natural. The only bad thing about today was that as she was by herself she still had no idea about who was going to be acting opposite her.

She made up her mind. As soon as she was finished up here she was going to go and find the director and ask him. He might think her a little odd to be this far and still unaware of her co-stars but that couldn't be helped.

She hung up her dress, filled with a determination for what she was about to do.

~#~

Even with relentless searching, it still took her ten minutes to find the director. When she did she saw that he was in deep discussion with two writers. She didn't want to intrude so she stood awkwardly to the side so she could wait until he finished.

Finally he spotted her and smiled. Quickly finishing off the conversation he gave some orders to the writers who nodded their agreement and set off together It was then that he came over to her.

"Kyoko! I was just telling the writers about that wonderful idea you had this morning. They seem to agree with you and me that it should be written in. We'll have to change some things around but it shouldn't be too much of a problem. They'll have it finished tomorrow."

Kyoko blushed at the fact that he had taken her idea so much to heart that he was gong to get the script re-written.

"Now…what can I do for you?"

"Well, I was wondering if you knew the name of the man playing the Prince?"

She faltered a little at his look of confusion.

"Only, it's just that I was told but I was so excited by the part that I didn't really hear."

The director smiled at that and Kyoko almost sighed in relief.

"Well, let's see…" he thought for a moment "The person we originally intended to take the part couldn't as he was away on another shoot, so we had to go with our second choice."

Kyoko had to hold herself back from urging him on.

"Um, I can't quite recall…I know he's not primarily an actor, that's why he wasn't out first…singer I believe…"

Kyoko felt dread hit her stomach like a rock.

He couldn't be talking about him could he?

There was absolutely no way…

There must be dozens of male singers out there who wanted to try their hand in acting…What were the chances?

"But his manager was quite insistent…saying something about it being good publicity and that he wouldn't let us down."

Suddenly Kyoko didn't want to know anymore. But she was frozen to the spot. It was rather like watching a train coming straight towards her.

"Ah! That was it!"

She closed her eyes reflexively.

"His name's Fuwa. Sho Fuwa."


	9. Filming II

Day 9 – 16 days to go

~#~

It wasn't as if she couldn't do it, Kyoko thought, it was just that she would rather not put up with him.

Gritting her teeth she stared past her reflection in the mirror where she was getting her hair done, straight at the sight of Sho, smugly sitting casually getting his own hair and make-up done. Five women swooned around him. He looked like he owned the whole temporary dressing tent.

Kyoko hated him for that.

How dare he?! How dare he swan in here and take over?

 _She_ was the one that had worked hard all of yesterday. _She_ was the one that the director had asked for advice about the script from and then taken that advice. And _she_ was the one who was the first choice for her part!

And what was he? A lazy, good for nothing, second choice! That was what! He wasn't even an actor!

He was just a musician who had gotten the part because of a good manager! That was all.

She fumed silently, glaring at the object of her hate in front of her. Above her head and line of sight her make-up artist and hair stylist exchanged worried glances. Both wondering what was going through Kyoko's mind to make her glare at her co-star like that. They would have thought that Kyoko had been a love-struck fan of his if it wasn't for the waves of rage that even they could feel emanating from her.

Kyoko watched as Sho said something and all the women laughed. God, he was annoying. And overwhelmingly irritating. Didn't those women know that he treated everyone like dirt?

It was at that precise moment that Sho glanced upwards and just happened to catch her eye.

He smirked.

That smirk contained everything it needed to convey how smug he was feeling compared to her. It was a challenge. It reminded Kyoko of all the times that he had beaten her and pushed her down. And how she had bowed to him, practically lying down at his feet.

Something deep inside her snapped which was echoed loudly by the sound of the mirror in front of her cracking and the terrified screams of the two women working on her.

Sho, though, had turned back to his followers and seemed not to notice. Either that or he was purposefully ignoring her.

He would pay, Kyoko vowed. He would pay dearly.

The sound of their laughter echoed around her.

~#~

The director looked worried but Kyoko didn't notice, too preoccupied staring at the object of her irritation.

Sho.

She didn't notice a lot of things that lunch break; like how everyone seemed to give her at least three metres of space, becoming too creeped out if the came any closer.

It was all Sho's fault though. He had acted perfectly the whole morning, whereas she, on the other hand, had been so irritated by his smugness that she couldn't do anything other than be irritated. 

It was a damning circle.

As such she had been unable to properly play the part of one-half of a loving couple. Anyone would find it difficult to hold hands when all you want to do is strangle the person you are doing so with.

He was a musician damn it! He shouldn't be this good at acting!

But that didn't change the fact that at this precise moment, he was out-acting her so badly she could see why he might deserve that smug overbearing smile of his.

What was even more annoying was the fact that he hadn't even looked at her that morning in the temporary dressing tent. He was ignoring her on purpose and then turning his full attention on her when they shot a scene. Being so totally ignored then so totally the focus point left Kyoko feeling more than a little dazed and confused. It puzzled her how he managed to switch so fast between the two extremes. And this irritated her as well.

She was beginning to feel a little upset and depressed. Not even the fact that she was playing the role of a princess could cheer her up. She sighed. If only she knew what to do. If only she knew someone that could help her…But with all thoughts focused on Sho she couldn't think of anyone.

The view of Sho's smug face was abruptly blocked by two legs. Kyoko glanced upwards in some slight surprise at the director who was lightly sweating.

He smiled nervously and then crouched down until he was at her eye level. "Kyoko?"

Her eyes, who had been wandering to the side to try and see Sho again, snapped back. The director smiled gently at her to show her that he wasn't angry at her whatever he was about to say.

"Kyoko," he repeated "are you all right?"

Her brow creased in confusion. She was alright. Well…as alright as she could be working alongside Sho.

"Um, yes, I'm alright. I mean…yes. Why?"

The director paused, obviously deliberating what to say. When he finally did speak it was in a very gentle and slow tone. "It's just that you seem a little…distracted…compared to yesterday."

A look of shock passed over Kyoko's face.

The director, seeing this, strived to make her feel better. "It's okay though, we still have time to redo scenes at the end if need be."

Kyoko felt dazed. "Er, yes. Thank you."

He patted her hand and stood up. Then he paused just as he was turning away. He seemed to be having an internal conflict over something. Eventually he turned back to Kyoko, his mind made up.

"Don't worry about having to retake scenes Kyoko, we have time. You don't have to be perfect on the very first take. Sometimes perfection needs time to be taken on it to be completed."

Kyoko gazed at him, her mouth open.

The director grinned at her. "Just relax and I'm sure that it'll come back to you."

"It?"

"The magic that allows you to become the character until you yourself don't exist anymore."

With that he walked away.

Kyoko stared at his retreating form long after he had disappeared from view. Was she really distracted?

This was…This was unacceptable. She had let her personal feelings overwhelm her characters feelings.

An actor or actress and their characters were supposed to be two separate entities. The director had thought that she was having trouble with the character or that she possibly couldn't do it. That thought hurt.

Kyoko couldn't believe that she had let Sho distract her so much that she had actually forfeited her acting for him.

He was stealing her acting from her! And the smug bastard knew it too!

All morning whenever they had taken a break between retakes he had had that stupid smug smile on his face. All the time! It was enough to make her feel ill.

She gritted her teeth as fiery determination coursed through her veins.

Well no more! She wouldn't let him affect her anymore! It was unfair to the director, whom she had grown to like so much and it was also unfair to everyone who had to stand around as she made mistake after mistake. 

But most of all it was unfair on herself. She was better than this! She knew she was. Though you couldn't tell from the quality of acting that she had produced this morning.

But just…damn it! This was so unfair!

If only the actor who had been the first choice for the part had been able to do it! She didn't know who it was but anyone would have been better than Sho. Right?

Kyoko sighed. She also knew that she was mostly to blame in all of this. She put down her unfinished lunch, having suddenly lost her appetite. She was still shocked and upset with how much she had actually blinded herself. This afternoon would be different.

She would make sure of it.

~#~

Seeing the director and the sound technicians move back to the filming area she tied up her tray and made her way over.

This time she would not let herself get distracted!

Coming in from the opposite side was Sho, a smug smirk plastered all over his face.

Stupid irritating smirk!

Kyoko felt the first twinges of annoyance start to affect her but they were quickly overwhelmed by her newly discovered fire of determination. She wouldn't let him affect her so.

It was with this attitude that she faced him when the director positioned them for the next shot. It did become a little harder to maintain when Sho started to talk to her though.

"So Kyoko, think you could do this scene in less than four shots this time?"

She just gritted her teeth and told herself to ignore him under her breath. Unfortunately this didn't make him go away.

"It's just that it's getting a little tiring being perfect all the time."

Stupid Sho and his stupid annoying voice! She glared at him.

"I mean…I'm not even actor! And I can easily beat you!"

It was getting harder and harder to ignore him. 'Ignore him' became Kyoko's new mantra. She would act but she wouldn't stoop to his level.

"I could probably out-act Ren if I went into this business! Easily I bet!"

Something snapped inside of her. "There's no way you could ever out-act Ren!" She hissed angrily a furious expression was evident on her face.

Sho smirked. "So she deigns to speak at last."

"Okay people!" The director interrupted. "From the top!"

Kyoko turned to her starting position filled with determination. She would show him! Sho was going down.

"And ACTION!"

~#~

Sho had seemed surprised and slightly put out when she had said her lines perfectly all in one shot. The director had seemed delighted at her progress and spent the rest of the afternoon with a large smile on his face. Sho's surprise quickly wore off but her continual deliverance of perfect character knocked him slightly and he started to make mistakes. After the twelfth or so one Kyoko heard him grumble under his breath.

She couldn't resist. Turning she faced him and smiled. "Try to keep up Sho. Maybe we can do this scene in less than four shots eh?"

Sho's face turned thunderous as he realised that she had used his own words against him. He shook in anger.

Kyoko turned away again. During the first scene of the afternoon she had quickly realised that if she just saw the character Sho was playing, instead of himself, then pushing away her annoyance at him became so much easier. In fact, a lot of things became easier if she just ignored him.

How had she not thought of this sooner?

~#~

That evening Kyoko left with a smile on her face. She had totally and completely gotten one up on Sho that afternoon. This was evident by the foul look that was plastered across his face and the bad temper he was displaying to all the crew right now.

Walking past she smiled sweetly at him and was rewarded with a scowl.

Yes indeed. This afternoon had been wonderful.


	10. Filming III

Day 10 – 15 days to go

~#~

The tension in the room was unbelievable. Everyone watched with baited breath for the two young lovers to finally turn and see each other. The young woman was just about to turn when her attention was pulled in the opposite direction by a close friend. Her blue strapless ball gown flowed around her, darker at the bottom and lightening to a royal blue around the bust. The bottom half of the dress was dusted with diamonds, creating a starry sky effect that glittered and twinkled as she turned.

Every muscle tensed as Kyoko glanced to the side and widened her eyes as she spotted the tall, broad backed figure standing on the opposite side of the room. His deep purple clothing marked him as royalty.

Was this it? Was this the moment that she would finally see her true love?

She opened her mouth to call out to him, to make him wait. To stop and notice her.

"CUT!"

Everyone seemed to step back and looked around them confusedly. All of them wondering why they were in a half constructed ballroom surrounded by filming equipment and not at the Christmas dance held by the royal palace every year. As one the crew seemed to let out their collective held breath in one go and as people regained their senses began to chat between themselves.

"Wow! That was amazing!"

"I know what you mean!"

"I actually felt like I was there!"

"Kyoko is so talented! She completely pulled me in!"

"And without even saying anything!"

Kyoko allowed a small smile to grace her lips as she heard these comments. She had come into work today with a new attitude. Yesterday afternoon had been enlightening to her but after she had slept on it last night she had had an epiphany. She wouldn't let Sho bother her today. No matter what he said, no matter what he did he wouldn't affect her because today she didn't come into work as Kyoko Mogami.

Today she came into work as Princess Fumiko.

Adopting all the characters personality traits had not been as difficult as she had first supposed. It also allowed her to act perfectly in the shots as she was continuously in character.

She glanced upwards at Sho. His temper had not improved at all over the night. In fact…it seemed to have worsened. When he was between scenes he had a continuous scowl plastered across his face.

As she was looking at him across the room he happened to glance upwards and catch her eye. She smiled sweetly at him and started to walk over towards him. His scowl deepened as his eyes followed her form across the busy room.

Stopping just in front of him and she let out a girlish giggle. "You shouldn't frown so much, you'll get frown lines."

Sho's eyes widened slightly at the comment. Kyoko kept smiling and moved on before he could come up with a retort. 

Well…she tried to stay in character…Sometimes it was just too easy to taunt him.

"Okay people!" The director called out over the chatter "We're doing the same scene again but from a different angle."

Kyoko made her way over to the floor of the shoot, her dress swishing behind her.

~#~

Sho stalked over and stood moodily across the floor from her. It was a pretty easy scene for him as all he had to do was keep his back to Kyoko and let her do all the acting. That pissed him off. They were doing all the scenes that let Kyoko show off her acting skills. And everyone was cooing over her and saying how good she was. When was it going to be his turn?

"And…ACTION!"

He gritted his teeth as the extras around him started to move. It was a good thing that he had his back to the cameras for this entire scene as he sure didn't look like he was enjoying himself at a party looking for the elusive Princess that had stolen his heart earlier.

Damn it! He could act better than she could! If they would just give him a chance.

"And CUT!"

He stormed off as those around him started to again praise how well Kyoko was acting. Grabbing a cup of water from the refreshments table he watched Kyoko talk with some of the extras from the corner of his eye. He could admit that in that dress and with a bit of make-up some young men would call her stunning…

But he was Sho Fuwa!

He blinked as he caught her looking at his direction. Was she…Was she looking at him?

He quickly refocused out of the corner of his eye at her.

Yes! Yes she was!

She kept glancing at him when she thought he wasn't looking! This was perfect. This was as it should be. He should always be in the centre of her life. He smirked and finished his drink. This was going to be good.

~#~

Kyoko prepared herself. This next shot would be held in a specially created garden. It was supposed to take place after the ballroom dancing scene but they were doing that after they had had the training.

She breathed in deeply, calming herself and trying to stay in character. She would be in close proximity to Sho for the rest of the afternoon. And by close proximity she meant linked arms and 'almost' embraces. She had to stay in character. 'Love-struck' not 'hate-filled'.

Slowly breathing out she made her way over to where Sho was standing.

"Good afternoon Sho."

He turned and smiled at her.

Kyoko blinked and hesitated. This wasn't the reaction that she had thought she would get. He had been in such a bad mood all day. She was slightly put out but linked her arm with his for the beginning of the next shot anyway only slightly shaken.

At least until Sho leant down towards her intimately.

"I saw you watching me." He whispered in her ear.

Kyoko blushed, mortified. How had he seen? She wasn't even sure that she had been watching him.

"I…I wasn't…"

"Oh yes. You were."

"…I…"

His warm breath caressed her neck and a shiver travelled up her spine. "…ah…"

"Did you like what you saw?"

Kyoko's eyes stared in front of her steadfastidly. If she had looked at Sho at that moment she would have seen an evil smirk grace his lips. "I don't…I have…there's nothing…"

"What? There's someone else?"

Kyoko's blush intensified.

"Oh no wait. Let me guess. Is it Ren?"

Kyoko tensed. What on earth was he going on about?

"But no…it can't be…"

Kyoko held her breath and frowned.

"Because I bet…" here he paused and breathed deeply. "I bet that you haven't even thought about him when you've been with me."

Kyoko just managed to stop herself from choking. Guilt flooded her system. It was true! She had completely forgotten about Ren. He hadn't thought about him at all since she started working with Sho. She couldn't believe that she had done that! 

Kyoko stopped herself from groaning. She had also completely forgotten about his Christmas present as well! What on earth was she going to get him?

Damn Sho! Why would he say those things to her? The irritating little…

She turned her head ready to say something angrily at him. To demand what he was talking about. She swallowed sharply as she bumped noses with him. His lips barely millimetres from her own. Her breath came in short bursts as her chest tightened at the close proximity. She tried to speak but all her breath left her in one whoosh. Left speechless it was all she could do to stay standing. Swallowing sharply she could see that Sho was smiling at the situation.

The sound of someone clearing their throat brought Kyoko back to reality and restored some movement in her limbs. She dazedly looked about her into the amused face of the director and the blushing faces of the crew members. That was a little too intimate a scene for them to witness.

"Are we ready now?" The director asked.

Kyoko blushed and stammered as she tried, and failed, to correct the situation.

Sho smirked and kept Kyoko's arm linked with his own. This was getting interesting.

~#~

That evening after the last scene had been shot the director called both Kyoko and Sho over to him. He still had an amused twinkle in his eye when he looked at how his two main stars stood close together.

Clearing his throat he smiled at them. "Basically," he explained "Why I've called you over to talk is that tomorrow we'll be bringing in a dancing instruction to show you how to perform the dance for the ball room scene. This will probably take all day so we've scheduled the actual dancing scene to take place the next day. So remember to get lots of rest tonight as tomorrow will be tiring. And remember not to injure yourselves."

Kyoko nodded in assent. She had been slightly dazed and tensed all afternoon because of what Sho had said. That and guilty because what he had said had been true. She had forgotten Ren. And now she also had to think of his present, which she had also forgotten about as well.

Starting to feel stressed she climbed into the company car. She had a feeling tomorrow was going to be even more stressful than today.


End file.
